Ⅰ.阅读
An absolute description of the threat hanging over the world’s mammals,reptiles, amphibians(哺乳、爬行、两栖动物) and other life forms has been published by the well-known scientific journal Nature.A special analysis carried out by the journal indicates that an astonishing 41% of all amphibians on the planet now face extinction while 26% of mammal species and 13% of birds are similarly threatened.
Many species are already critically endangered and close to extinction,including the Sumatran elephant,the Amur leopard and the mountain gorilla.But also in danger of vanishing from the wild,it now appears,are animals that are currently rated as merely being endangered.
In each case,the finger of blame points directly at human activities.The continuing spread of agriculture is destroying millions of hectares of wild habitats (栖息地) every year,leaving animals without homes,while the introduction of newly-come species,often helped by humans,is also damaging native populations.At the same time,pollution and overfishing are destroying ocean ecosystems.
“Habitat destruction,pollution or overfishing either kills off wild creatures and plants or leaves them badly weakened,”said Derek Tittensor,an ocean ecologist at the World Conservation Monitoring Center in Cambridge.“The trouble is that in coming decades,the additional threat of worsening climate change will become more and more common and could then kill off these survivors.”
The problem,according to Nature,is worsened because of the huge gaps in scientists’ knowledge about the planet’s biodiversity.Evaluations of the total number of species of animals and plants alive vary from 2 million to 50 million.In addition,evaluations of current rates of species’ disappearances vary from 500 to 36,000 a year.“That is the real problem we face,”added Tittensor.“The scale of uncertainty is huge.”
In the end,however,the data indicates that the world is heading cruelly toward a mass extinction—which is defined as one involving a loss of 75% of species or more.This could arrive in less than a hundred years or could take a thousand,depending on extinction rates.
1.What’s the main idea of the first two paragraphs?
A.Figures about some wild animals are astonishing. B.Nature is the famous journal around the world.
C.Many endangered species are close to extinction. D.Some rare species have appeared around the world.
2.From Paragraph 4 we know that another future threat is .
A.destruction of habitats B.overfishing and pollution
C.the worsening climate change D.killing off wild creatures and plants
3.What is the real problem we are facing now according to Paragraph 5?
A.The killing of wild creatures and cutting of trees. B.The global warming caused by human beings.
C.The destruction of ocean ecosystem by pollution. D.Evaluation of current rates of species’ disappearances.
语篇解读:本文是一篇说明文。世界著名科学杂志《自然》做了一项特别分析,用一些惊人的数据说明了世界上一些动物正濒临灭绝。同时,它还指出,造成灭绝的直接原因是人类的破坏活动。
答案及剖析:
1.C 段落大意题。根据第一段最后一句及第二段内容可知,这两段主要是说世界上的濒危物种正在接近灭绝。
2.C 细节理解题。根据第四段最后一句可知,气候的恶化是未来的另一种威胁。
3.D 细节理解题。根据第五段中的“In addition,evaluations of current rates of species’ disappearances...the real problem we face”可知选D项。
